More on Princeton

I appreciate Rob's link to the piece in Commonweal by Maurice Reidy, "Catholicism on Campus:  How the Faith is Presented at Secular Schools."  I think the article and the phenemenon it describes are interesting and important. 

I imagine most folks (including the dreaded Neuhaus / Weigel / Novak neo-con troika!) would agree that Catholicism on secular campuses should be presented in a full and rich way, and not in a way that creates or feeds mistaken (or, in some cases, intentionally inaccurate) images of the Church's teaching and engagement with the world as "conservative."  And, few would disagree with (certainly, I would not) Cathy Kaveny's statement, in the piece, that students at Princeton -- and everyplace else! -- should be "made aware of the breadth and strengths of the Catholic tradition."  (Indeed, this should happen even without the help of Catholics or chaplains, but simply as part of any well rounded education).

That said, the piece is, I think, not really fair to Robert George and the James Madison Program.  True, the article takes care to recognize that the question whether the Program does a good job at countering the campus's and the faculty's pervasive and stifling (and un-university-like) ideological homogeneity (it seems to me that it does) is different from the question whether the Program "reflect[s] the legitimate diversity within Catholic thinking."  (Again, that "legitimate diversity" should be presented . . . by someone.)  But, I'm not sure it's fair to put too much responsibility for presenting that diversity on the Madison Program -- it's not as if the Program does not have a pretty full plate "countering" all kinds of things -- or to pull out the "it's funded by Olin and has ties to people with ties to Opus Dei" card.  And, I'm pretty sure it is not fair to quote uncritically an anti-George hit piece in the Nation  (not exactly an outlet known for balanced presentations of opinion):

In a recent article in the Nation, Max Blumenthal wrote that the Madison Program “functions in many ways as a vehicle for conservative interests, using funding from a shadowy, cultlike Catholic group and right-wing foundations to support gatherings of movement activists, fellowships for ideologically correct visiting professors, and a cadre of conservative students.”

Please.  Plenty of politically progressive scholars have participated in and enjoyed the Madison Program's activities and debates.  And, for Max Blumenthal to suggest that the employment of an "ideological correctness" criterion -- assuming that Madison does employ one -- somehow distinguishes the Madison Program from, say, the entire academy is, well, to make a funny.

In any event, check out the piece.  (There are also interesting comments about the issue over at the Commonweal blog.